In 1994 I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which led me to create Celiac.com in 1995. I created this site for a single purpose: To help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives. Celiac.com was the first site on the Internet dedicated solely to celiac disease. In 1998 I founded The Gluten-Free Mall, Your Special Diet Superstore!, and I am the co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of Journal of Gluten Sensitivity.

Celiac.com 07/30/2004 - Past studies have reported a higher prevalence of depressive
symptoms in adults with celiac disease, perhaps due to serotonergic dysfunction,
and an increased prevalence of depressive and disruptive behavioral disorders
in adolescence with the disease, especially before treatment. In an effort
to further study any possible connections, researchers looked at 29 adolescents
with celiac disease and 29 matched controls. The researchers used semi-structured
psychiatric interviews and symptom measurement scales to examine all subjects.
Their findings indicate that the subjects with celiac disease had significantly
higher prevalence of major depressive disorder compared to the controls--31%
versus 7%, and a significantly higher prevalence of disruptive behavior
disorders--28% versus 3%. The researchers also found that most of the
mental disorders occurred before the patients were diagnosed and treated
with a gluten-free diet. The prevalence of current mental disorders was
similar in both of the groups studied.